Eating in season is something we rarely do these days. We can get things like tropical fruits all year round, meats and fish from Europe or Asia and all manner of great foods shipped straight to us from anywhere on the planet. Is this really great for us though?

A few weeks back a special client asked me to prepare a dinner meal for her and 9 guests. I am always excited to plan meals for parties and I feel it is a great privilege to be asked to cook, a privilege which I take seriously.

Watercress Leek Fennel Tarragon Soup
This is simply an awesome soup! It takes ½ hour to make and it’s vegan. It’s full of bright flavor and healing properties. Watercress is a peppery green, which like arugula, is a blood cleaner, and reduces mucous. Fennel is a good source of fiber and vitamin C, and leeks are chock-full of Vitamin K, Vitamin A and manganese. The potatoes add a nice richness and are loaded with potassium, which is great for your bones. Feel a cold coming on? Make a big pot of this soup and as you enjoy its deliciousness, you’ll make your cold vanish!

Ingredients:

2 lbs Yukon potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

2 large leeks, well-washed and chopped

1 large bunch, or 2 small bunches of watercress washed and thicker stems removed *

1 fennel bulb, herbaceous tops reserved

leaves from a few sprigs tarragon

salt & pepper to taste

strained juice of 1 lemon

Preparation:

heat olive oil on medium heat and add garlic to pot

peel and chop potatoes, fennel and leeks and add to pot

add enough water to just cover the vegetables

add salt

bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium / low until veggies are tender to point of falling apart

use a hand blender (I recommend the Cuisinart Smart Stick) to mix everything until smooth

salt and pepper to taste

serve soup in a bowl and finish with a teaspoon of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil

*note about watercress: you can find traditionally grown watercress at most grocery stores, with short slightly fat stalks and smaller leaves; or in specialty stores you can find hydroponically-grown watercress which has skinny stalks and bigger leaves and usually has the roots attached. If you use regular watercress, you'll need 1 bunch, if you use the hydro, you’ll need 2 bunches (remove the roots).

My Brother-in-law, Joseph, plated these typically separately-served dishes together one night at family dinner while we were on vacation on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It was genius! The mozzarella and balsamic reduction picked up the taste of the varied fresh herbs and was the perfect marriage of taste and beautiful presentation. Such a joy to make at the end of the summer when basil is abundant! Fresh pungent herbs and raw garlic are also medicinal in that they are anti-fungal and have blood-purifying elements, while spinach has iron, which strengthens the bones and red blood cells. If you're vegan, you can leave out the butter and cheese and use the best quality vegan substitutes that make you happy! Enjoy!

We were encountering a vast culinary wasteland along interstate 95, and on top of that, it was Sunday, south of the Mason-Dixon. If you couldn’t tell already how bad my food-snobbery is, McDonalds was not an option.

This was one of my most delicious thrown-together meals ever! And quite unintentionally, it's gluten-free and vegan. I'm naming this dish:

Party Noodles!

Ingredients:

1 8 oz package of cellophane bean thread noodles

4 carrots julienned

1 small head napa cabbage julienned

1 clove garlic minced

2 inches of ginger minced

4 leaves steamed kale chopped

handful purple basil leaves torn & a little of the stems chopped

small handful cilantro leaves with stems chopped

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

1/4 cup gluten free tamari

1 tablespoon mirin

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

brown rice vinegar

gomasio to garnish

Preparation:

heat grapeseed oil in a large cast oil or stainless frying pan

add ginger & garlic

add carrots and cook for 3 minutes

add cabbage and cook for 3 more minutes

add kale cook 1 minute and stir everything, then turn heat off

boil water and cook noodles 2 - 3 minutes, drain & toss

add tamari, sesame oil, vinegar, mirin & toss

add fresh herbs & toss

garnish with gomasio

Note on Gomasio:

Gomasio is a traditional Japanese condiment which is a mixture of toasted sesame seeds, partially pulverized, and sea salt. I know it sounds fancy, but I used homemade black sesame seed gomasio here. Back story is that I used to be a member of the Park Slope Food Co-op where they sold gargantuan bags of black sesame seeds. When I was pregnant I needed to increase my intake of iron & calcium, both of which are abundant in black sesame seeds. Since it's hard to incorporate black sesame seeds into so many recipes, and gomasio is a great substitute for regular table salt, I figured making black sesame seed gomasio was a good solution. I am only now nearing the end of my supply, 2.5 years later! Alas I was kicked out of the Park Slope Food Co-op (a story for another day), so now I will have to research where to get a new supply-- hit me if you have a connection!

Eating vegan, meaning you do not eat any animal flesh or by products, does not have to mean “eating rabbit food” with a piece of carrot for breakfast and a piece of celery for lunch. On the contrary, eating a plant-based diet can be an eye-opening array of tastes and textures which can help to prolong life by reducing your chance of developing such ailments as diabetes, heart disease and cancer – TRUE Story!

Personally, I like to call myself a try-hard-vegan because in my heart-of-hearts I really do hope to eat as a strict vegan one day. But, for now, I eat seafood, the occasional piece of cheese and sometimes eggs. However, I have not eaten animals for 25 years purely because I love animals so much and can just not stomach the thought of eating a furry friend.

I think that I could probably become a Vegan easier if I was able to coordinate a constant array of dishes at each meal time. Unfortunately, this is something I constantly struggle with. I mean, I know how to make a salad, or a vegetable soup or a Veggie burger with dressings but I lack the skills to make a proper meal with a variety of options. So weird though, that for my Son I can whip things up in a jiffy but for me it is like the “lights are on but nobody is home”.

My girlfriend, mother, yoga teacher and sustainable food nut, Sarah Willis AKA YoginiCuisine, graciously put together this posting for me this week of an appetizing vegan meal with a small tasting of different foods.

Sarah calls this the “Early Summer Vegan Plate ” as beginning of the season Radishes, Garlic Scapes, Scallions, Lettuce and Beetroot are all in abundance.

“RULE on” (Australian for You Are Amazing) – you are now in the Vegan ZONE

SOME FUN FACTS on the ingredients in this dish

Radishes are good for the blood and can ease inflammation in the body

Avocados are great for the skin, hair and proper endocrine function

Beetroot is a fiber & iron-rich food which can help to replenish red blood cells. Beetroot is also excellent for vegans and non-vegans alike during the menstrual cycle

Oregano is anti-fungal

Cashew Nuts have a lower fat content than most other nuts and can promote good cardiovascular health

Apple cider vinegar is very tonifying to the system and can help reduce symptoms of arthritis & gout as well as reducing infection

IN SUMMARY

After reading this positing, do you think that you can whip something up to Sarah’s effect. I hope so, as that is the intention; to make it easier for us all to figure out how to be a little healthier.

Please follow Sarah on Twitter at @yoginicuisine for daily inspiration to create scrumptious healthy food for your family in the kitchen.

Maya Tulum, the resort where we are hosting our annual Yoga retreat has a wonderful restaurant, but if you decide to venture out of the resort, here are a few restaurants in the area that you may be tempted to try!

We are calling this recipe "polenta 'plosion," as it conveys the feel of the dish, and our affinity for alliteration . . . 'plosion, is an abbreviation of 'explosion,' but it sounds a little dirty, doesn't it? The herb crust on the polenta really makes the dish by creating the best layering of flavors. Then the goat cheese and the braised tomato and vegetable topping with the fresh herbs and the nuttiness of the pine nuts - fuhgeddaboudit! It's easy to make, too. Polenta is also much healthier than wheat-based pasta, and very economical. This is truly the greatest dish to come about in a while.
Ingredients:

1 package polenta in a round

dry spice rub - rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage

1 28 oz can of whole tomoatoes, strain out juice and just use tomatoes

1/2 an onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 whole red pepper, diced

3 cups sliced mushrooms

1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 cup vegetable broth

4 oz goat cheese

chopped parsley & torn basil leaves

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

4 tablespoons olive oil

grated parmesan

Method:

toast pine nuts in a toaster oven on medium/low heat for 5 minutes. shake the nuts around and toast for 2 minutes longer

mortar & pestle the dry spices to mix together and break down the rosemary needles , remove any sharp bits

slice the polenta in 1/2 inch rounds and coat with dry spice mixture

heat 2 tablespoons olive oil

brown onion & garlic

add peppers and cook for a minute

add mushroom and cook water out of them

add strained tomatoes and break up a bit with wooden spoon

add olives & veg broth and simmer on low for a few minutes , then put sauce in a bowl and set aside

fry herb-coated polenta rounds (preferably in a good no-stick pan) on medium / high heat until golden brown on each side (around 5 minutes on each side)

plate the polenta rounds, top with crumbled goat cheese, then the sauce,